Lamine Diack, the long-time leader of world track and field who was convicted of extorting money from athletes and accused of taking bribes in an Olympic hosting vote, has died at the age of 88, his family said.
Lamine Diack, the long-time leader of world track and field who was convicted of extorting money from athletes and accused of taking bribes in an Olympic hosting vote, has died at the age of 88, his family said. A wa Diack, niece of the former International Olympic Committee member, told the Associated Press: “My uncle Lamine Diack passed away Thursday to Friday night.” Diack led track and field’s governing body — then known as the IAAF, now World Athletics — for 16 years, but his name has become a byword for corruption in Olympic circles since 2015, as allegations of wrongdoing emerged soon after his leadership of his sport ended. He died in his home country of Senegal, where he was allowed to return this year from France where he had been detained under house arrest for several years and then convicted of various corruption charges linked to abuses of his prominent positions in world sports.
